FirstPathway Weblog

On Wednesday, July 22, 2009 the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Promoting Job Creation and Foreign Investment in the United States: An Assessment of the EB-5 Regional Center Program.”

Panelists before the committee included Robert F. Kruszka Deputy Chief of USCIS Service Center Operations, Michael T. Dougherty Former USCIS Ombudsman and our colleague, EB5 expert Stephen Yale-Loehr.

The tone of the meeting was very positive with the majority of the meeting revolving around program improvement and ways to encourage investor confidence. This is great news for the EB5 program.

Watch the web cast online

Note the first 21min 50sec is blank (title page).

The Senate adopted an amendment to make the EB-5 Regional Center pilot program permanent in Washington, Wednesday July, 8 2009. This strongly supported bipartisan program is slated to expire in September of this year.

In a press release issued by the amendment’s sponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) commented on the importance of the EB5 program stating “This program must be made permanent if it is to achieve its potential as an economic engine in our communities… Authorizing the program for only months or a few years at a time sends the wrong message to individuals who want to make a permanent commitment to the United States. ”

This amendment is forecasted to significantly grow confidence among immigrant investors.

Read Senator Patrick Leahy’s Press Release

The July-August edition of Fortune Magazine recently highlighted the EB-5 visa program as a viable source of capital for the struggling American economy. EB5 was also cited as win-win for foreign investors and developers alike. According to the article, last year alone “EB5 immigrants invested more than 400 million in US ventures.”

Featured in the article was Milwaukee’s very own Tim Sheehy, President of the MMAC, and The Aloft Hotel which anticipates creating over 400 jobs for EB5 investors.

FirstPathway’s Korean Marketing Specialist, Brian Kim visited Milwaukee this week to meet with government officials, performed site visits and learn more about the region. During his visit Mr. Kim spoke highly of Milwaukee calling the local community “prosperous, vibrant and eager to welcome Korean entrepreneurs.”

Visit our NEW Flickr photo blog to view more photos from his visit.